Schools chiefs want 'pause' on Common Core

Florida’s public school superintendents on Tuesday asked for a three-year “pause” before the state fully implements the Common Core education standards in every kindergarten-through-high-school classroom in the state.

Volusia County School Superintendent Margaret Smith told the state Board of Education, meeting in Gainesville, that the state’s 67 superintendents strongly support Common Core but believe the districts need more time to adequately prepare to teach the new standards as well as use a still-developing test to measure student performance.

Currently, the Common Core standards for math and reading are being taught in kindergarten through second grade. But by next fall, the standards — which have become a political flashpoint in Florida — are set to be used in all K-12 classrooms.

“It is not realistic to expect that we can have a full and quality implementation in all K-12 grade levels by next year,” Smith said, representing the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. “Teachers are under a tremendous stress because they are being trained while being expected to teach the new standards at the same time.”

Smith said the superintendents were developing a timeline to phase in the new standards over a three-year period that is to be presented to state officials later.

Although the state adopted Common Core in 2010, the standards remain in flux. The Florida Department of Education just conducted three public hearings and gathered more than 19,000 comments from critics and supporters.

Critics have cited the standards as a precursor to a federal takeover of education, among other issues.

Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said Tuesday that the department has hired an outside consultant to organize the comments, and will present findings to the state board early next year, with the possibility that the state could use the comments to modify the standards. If the standards are changed, Stewart said those changes will have to be done by a department rule, subject to a public hearing.

Meanwhile, it is uncertain what test the state will use to assess performance under the Common Core or some modification of it. Originally, Florida was part of a consortium of states developing a Common Core assessment. But under an executive order from Gov. Rick Scott, Florida has withdrawn from the consortium, although the group’s test is still a possibility.

Stewart said the DOE issued a 270-page “invitation to negotiate” for proposals from testing companies. She said the department is to select a test for the new standards by March. The test would replace the current FCAT system.

State education officials are also looking at the tests that will be used in some of the states with the highest-performing students, such as Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Those states use a variety of approaches, ranging from the consortium test to testing companies to state-developed exams.

Struggling

The uncertainty over the testing system was one of many concerns raised by Smith on behalf the school superintendents.

She also noted that instructional material for the new standards could be delayed, particularly for the secondary schools. Smith said the districts were “struggling” with the development of end-of-course tests and had concerns how those tests would be aligned with the new standards.

Smith said technology remains a big concern in the districts, with a mismatch between the state’s growing emphasis on the use of technology to teach students and administer tests with the fact that many districts need tech improvements.

The implementation of the new standards could affect issues like teacher evaluations and pay as well as the school grading system, which the superintendents say needs to be revamped.

“Teachers and administrators are truly frustrated because they do not trust the evaluation system,” Smith said.

The superintendents said they would push for a “realistic transition plan” in the 2014 Legislature.

The state’s major teachers’ union said it also could support a transitional period for the new standards.

Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association, said: “For the past 15 years, our public schools have been subject to changes every year and that has only accelerated over the past few years. It makes sense to make sure everyone’s on the same page before implementing the standards and testing and their high-stakes consequences.”

But state Board of Education members gave no indication that they were ready to back off the Common Core implementation by next fall.

Kathleen Shanahan, a strong Common Core supporter on the board, questioned whether the superintendents were more concerned about the impact on the “adults” in the system the repercussions for the students.

She noted that Florida students performed well on recently released National Assessment of Educational Progress tests that measure students’ ability in math and reading among all the states.

“How do you correlate that?” Shanahan asked. “The kids are performing, so you guys are asking for a three-year status quo?”

Smith said the students were the superintendents’ top priority. “We want our students to continue to grow and achieve. There are so many changes and adjustments and requirements for us to do a quality job,” she said. “That is our focus.”

“The students seem to be doing fine,” Shanahan responded.

Lloyd Dunkelberger

Lloyd Dunkelberger is the Htpolitics.com Capital Bureau Chief.
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Last modified: November 20, 2013
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